SHIPPENSBURG - It took six days for disappointment to turn into elation for LeQuan Chapman.

Exeter's standout long jumper walked away from the Firing Meet last weekend feeling frustrated. He took third and it was the third time he failed to earn gold in a major county meet this season.

Chapman picked a pretty good time to end his drought.

The senior jumped a season-best 22-103/4 to capture first at the District 3-AAA Track and Field Championships at Seth Grove Stadium Friday.

"I've been working hard all season," he said. "I guess it paid off now. My goal was to go a little bit farther, 23, so I missed it by a little bit."

Chapman went far enough.

Exeter's star was among nine top-three finishers on the boys side during the first day of competition.

In Class AAA, Daniel Boone's Tyler Brooks was second in the long jump; Wilson's Steve Goeltz was second in the pole vault; Exeter's Zach Greth was third in the 3200; and Wilson's Johnny Morgan was third in the high jump.

In Class AA, Schuylkill Valley's Jean Joseph and Brad Najac were second and third in the triple jump; Kutztown's Stephen Welsh was second in the 3200; and Kutztown's Trevor Stutzman was third in the discus.

Chapman was the only Berks boy to wear gold.

Prior to the meet, he looked at the qualifying distances and saw how bunched together they were. He was seeded second at 22-41/2, just 11/2 inches behind top seed Josh Mercado of McCaskey.

The door seemed open. When Mercado dropped out because of a hamstring injury, that opening became a little wider.

It was an exciting reversal of fortune for Chapman after placing behind Schuylkill Valley's Derek Gaul, the District 3-AA favorite, and Brooks at the Firing.

Chapman called that meet a "screw-up" and a "mishap." It took him a few days to get over it and refocus on the next step in the season-long grind.

"I'm not going to lie," Chapman said. "Last week I was pretty down. I really wanted to win the county meet. It was really important to me. I wound up not even coming in second. Today I wanted to put it all on the line and hopefully it'll make everything better."

The first Berks medal went to Morgan, who made sure Wilson didn't walk away empty-handed in the high jump. Wilson's top qualifier, Shane Witmyer, didn't compete because of a hamstring injury.

Morgan jumped 6-2, below his personal best of 6-4, but good enough for bronze. He finished fourth in districts last year and said Witmyer played a role in Friday's success.

"He's been my mentor through this," Morgan said. "He told me to give it my all and try to make it to states at all costs."

The Class AA triple jump featured the present and future in that event for Schuylkill Valley. Joseph, a senior, jumped 43-11/4 to finish ahead of Najac, a sophomore, at 43-43/4.

Joseph is the school record holder at 43-11/2, but he can't be too confident that mark will hold with Najac waiting in the wings.

"He could break my records," said Joseph, who will try to raise his distance at the PIAA meet next week. "He's got two more years."

Najac was jumping in the 37s as a freshman when he failed to qualify for districts. He has taken a quantum leap forward in a short period of 0time.

"The best is yet to come," Najac said with a smile. "I'm nowhere near it yet. I know that."

Goeltz dominated the Berks season in the pole vault, winning all three major county meets. The sophomore reached 13-9 Friday, slightly below his personal best of 14-0. He was thrilled with the result.

"These are actually pretty cool," Goeltz said, glancing down at his silver medal. "I'm ecstatic. My goal was to go to districts and hopefully place in the top eight or maybe top five to go to states. I did not expect to be in the top three, let alone No. 2."

Welsh found himself running close with Milton Hershey's Brett Kubiak, who had by far the best qualifying time in the 3200. It came down to the final sprint and Kubiak finished in 9:41.47, edging Welsh by about three seconds.

"I'm very happy with it," Welsh said. "It was a good race. I definitely couldn't have gone any faster. I figured I would just try to stay with (Kubiak), try and kick and whatever happened, I would have to be happy with it. I guess he just had a little more left in the tank."

Chapman, meanwhile, put an exclamation mark on his accomplished career. He participated in Shippensburg's jump camp last summer and came back here with an eye toward finishing first.

After a disappointing showing in the invitationals, districts unfolded just as he hoped.

Chapman said he wasn't worried about personal bests or seeds before Friday. He has discovered those things don't matter much this time of year.